


Curiosity Wrote a Comic

by buggachat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, death is kind of a motif and discussed a lot but no characters actually die, equal parts angst and fluff, marinette is a very anxious person, will update tags as I update the fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2019-07-25 07:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16192601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buggachat/pseuds/buggachat
Summary: Marinette is entrusted with the opportunity to beta read Marc and Nathaniel's Ladybug comics, and she couldn't be happier. What's more fun than consuming content inspired by you?That is, until the comics take turn she had never expected. Now she finds herself faced with truths and possibilities she had never considered before, and it may just take a certain blond-haired boy or two to calm her fears....Basically, Marinette reads some angsty fanfiction about herself and doesn't handle it too well.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first ever multi-chapter fic!
> 
> Inspiration for this fanfiction started after Reverser (obviously), but I started writing it around the time Sandboy came out. So it may not be compliant with the bee trilogy, frozer, or season 2 finale, but otherwise it's mostly canon compliant.

Being the one who set Marc and Nathaniel up came with certain benefits. And those benefits came in the form of early comic drafts.

Ever since Marc and Nathaniel began their comic book series about Ladybug and Chat Noir, Marinette had been entrusted as their beta reader. The term was used lightly, of course, as Marinette’s critique was often soft and unsubstantial; it really just meant that she got the first peak of each upcoming issue.

“Please, Marinette?” Alya begged, batting her eyelashes and pouting her lip at Marinette, “Just a peak?”

“Who are you? Manon?” Marinette giggled, shoving the notebook that Nathaniel had handed her into her bag. She made sure to speak quietly enough that Nathaniel couldn’t hear— he was in the classroom, after all.  “The answer’s no! I don’t want to betray Nathaniel’s trust.”

“Yeah, yeah, but you realize that this is like… my two biggest interests wrapped up into one, right?” Alya huffed, “Comic books and Ladybug and Chat Noir. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were made specifically with me in mind.”

Marinette opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a sweet, angelic voice. “Did you say Ladybug and Chat Noir comics?”

Marinette couldn’t help the squeak that escaped her mouth. She inexplicably straightened up in her seat, staring wide-eyed at Adrien… whose attention was, thankfully, on Alya and not her. How long had he been there?

“Uh huh,” Alya said, leaning forward and turning her attention to Adrien. Sometimes it amazed Marinette how easily Alya spoke to him. “Nath and Marc are making them.”

“Marc?” Adrien repeated quietly to himself, the gears clearly turning in his head. His eyebrows shot up. “Oh! Reverser, right?”

“Yep!” Alya grinned and glanced briefly at Marinette, the look on her face so self-satisfactory that Marinette just _knew_ that she was planning somethi— “Mari set him and Nath up to make the comics together. They’re awesome, and without her, they wouldn’t exist. They even let her beta read for them.”

“Really? That’s awesome!” Marinette could feel her face flush beet red as Adrien’s eyes looked to her. She could feel her heart racing, her legs trembling, her palms sweatin—

Alya gently elbowed her in the side, bringing Marinette back into the present. “O-Oh! Yeah! It was— It wasn’t anything! Nothing, in fact. It was nothing! I didn’t even… I didn’t do anything it wasn’t a big deal it’s fine! You’re fine. I mean, it’s fine. I mean…”

Thankfully, Alya was quick to cut in and cover for her. “The comics are awesome! There’s like, five issues so far. Marc does all the writing and Nath does the art. They print out a bunch of copies of ‘em and keep them in the art room for anyone who wants one. If you wanna read them, you should ask Nath.”

“That’s so cool, I’ll definitely do that!” Adrien said, the excitement radiating off of him like the ray of pure sunshine that he was.

 As Ms. Bustier entered the room and started to take attendance, Marinette added ‘comic books’ to her mental list of ‘things that make Adrien happy’. Some day, she’d make good use of that list.

* * *

Lunch break rolled around and Marinette was sitting at her dining room table, scooping peas into her mouth as she turned the pages of the comic book that Nathaniel had given her. 

With her pink gel pen, she marked in some ‘critiques’, though they were pretty few and far between. The comic was still a rough draft and done in simple pencil sketches, but Marinette still couldn’t help but revel in how beautiful Nathaniel’s art was. She had marked a hand that seemed to be drawn backwards and a couple talk bubbles that she wasn’t sure the order of which to read and continued to skim through the comic.

Ladybug, Chat Noir, Mightillustrator, and Reverser were fighting a villain atop the Eiffel Tower. The action was well drawn and well paced, and the dialogue between the characters flowed naturally. It was fun to read— although, Marinette had to admit that reading Ladybug’s lines felt a little bit weird. She couldn’t help the voice in the back of her mind muttering ‘would I really say that?’, though it wasn’t a result of poor writing so much as her own self-doubt.

Reading Chat Noir’s puns always made her laugh, though. But she’d never admit that.

The villain pushed Chat Noir off of the tower just as Ladybug and Mightillustrator ripped the akumatized object off of the villain’s person. Ladybug ripped the scarf in two, purified the akuma, and threw her Lucky Charm (which was a boot) into the air.

Reverser went to catch Chat Noir… but he wasn’t fast enough. Chat Noir hit the ground.

Marinette dropped her fork, the comic reeling in her full attention. She quickly turned the page and audibly gasped at what she saw.

Ladybug and Mightillustrator made their way to the ground. They gathered around Chat Noir. Ladybug started screaming. She got on her knees and shook Chat Noir, begging for him to wake up. There was a large shadow of graphite drawn under Chat Noir’s form, and it took Marinette only a moment to realize it was meant to represent blood. 

Reverser said “he’s gone, Ladybug” and Ladybug cried into Mightillustrator’s shoulder.

_End Issue 6_

…

 _WHAT_.

Marinette’s jaw hit the floor. She gawked at the issue, her eyes skimming over the panels in some attempt to convince herself that she had just read it wrong or misinterpreted it.

But she hadn't.

Marc and Nathaniel killed off Chat Noir.

Her hands shook as she grabbed the pen she hadn’t realized she’d dropped. Part of her (the part of her that was actually personally close friends with Chat Noir, no doubt) wanted to cross out the entirety of the last few pages and write a little paragraph in the margins about how Chat Noir _shouldn’t_ _die._

… But she couldn’t. It wasn’t her place. This was Marc and Nathaniel’s comic, and they could do with it what they wanted. Marinette had also always made a special effort to never add critique to the writing of the comic, as she knew Marc was very sensitive. It just wasn’t worth it, especially when it _had_ drawn her in and gotten her attention…

Instead, she opted to draw a crying little frowny face next to the last panel.

“Marinette, it’s time to head back to class,” her mother gently reminded her. Marinette nodded, shoved the rest of her food in her mouth, packed up her stuff, and headed back to school with a new feeling of heaviness in her heart.

She couldn’t believe it had gotten that dark.

* * *

The rest of the school day went by without too much of a hitch. There was a pool of unpleasantness resting at the bottom of Marinette’s gut throughout the day, but she luckily managed to ignore it and focus on the lessons at hand. She really shouldn’t have been stressing out about a comic book. It wasn’t that big of a deal. 

After her last class ended, Marinette bid goodbye to Alya and headed for the art room to meet up with Nathaniel and Marc. As she approached the door to the art room, however, she heard a voice that made her stop dead in her tracks.

_Adrien!_

Marinette let out a quiet gasp and pressed her back to the wall beside the art room door. She peeked into the room and saw her suspicions confirmed— Adrien was in the art room. Since when did Adrien ever go in the art room!? Was he joining the club? How would she be able to focus on her designs if Adrien was with her and oh god what kind of art would he do and how would he fit this into his already hectic schedule and would he hate her if she—

“Here you go, Adrien!” Nathaniel’s voice rung out, effectively reminding Marinette that she was an _idiot._ Adrien was picking up the comics! “When you’re done with them, tell me what you think, okay?”

“I will!” Adrien cheerfully said, “I have to get going now, but thank you again! I’m excited to read them.”

As Adrien left the room, he met eyes with Marinette. She felt like she could melt into a puddle right then and there.

“Hey, Marinette!” Adrien greeted and shot her a sweet, genuine smile as he continued to make his way to the entrance of the school. She stuttered out a hello, waved at him, and then hurriedly slunk into the art room.

After a moment of fumbling with her bag (it was ridiculous how much Adrien had an effect on her... he basically just said hello, and her heart was already racing), she pulled out the rough draft of the comic and set it on the table Marc and Nathaniel were sitting at.

“Hey, Nath. Hey Marc. I finished reading the comic…” Marinette said, fidgeting with the strap of her purse. “I marked a few things, but it was basically perfect.”

 _Except for the fact you killed Chat Noir,_ she thought with the bite of her lip.

“Awesome, thanks Marinette!” Nathaniel beamed, putting the draft into his own backpack. Marc smiled nervously at her.

She couldn’t help it. She had to say _something._ “Is… Is Chat Noir going to be okay?”

Marc and Nathaniel both grinned and shared a Knowing Look with each other. Marinette held her breath, the unpleasantness in her gut only growing.

“No spoilers.”

* * *

 That night, Marinette laid awake in her bed, eyes glued to her ceiling as her mind raced. 

They couldn’t kill off Chat. They couldn’t. Maybe they would scrap the concept before the comic reached the inking phase. Maybe they’d rewrite the whole thing, keep him alive, keep him safe… Chat Noir didn’t deserve to die, even if it was a fictional version of him. Fictional Ladybug didn’t deserve to live with the guilt of having failed him…

How _would_ she react to Chat Noir’s death? Would she scream, like Ladybug did in the comics? Would she cry? Would she even believe it was real?

… Then again, Chat Noir had died on her before. During Timebreaker—

“Marinette, are you okay?”

Marinette turned to look at her kwami who nestled up against her cat pillow. She looked concerned, and suddenly Marinette felt incredibly silly.

“I’m fine, Tikki,” Marinette yawned out, rolling onto her side and pulling the covers over herself, “Just… thinking.”

“That’s okay,” Tikki said, a small smile on her little face, “You should get some rest, though. It’s getting late.”

“You’re right.” Marinette closed her eyes, “Good night.”

It was probably just a cliffhanger, anyways. Chat was probably fine… surely they wouldn’t actually kill him off.

Right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The issue is officially released to the public.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: there's an earthquake-based akuma in this chapter. If you're easily triggered by earthquakes (though they are small in scale here), you may not want to read this chapter.

After getting some rest and focusing her attention on her projects, Marinette had managed to mostly forget about Marc and Nathaniel’s comic book.

… She  _ had _ , anyways. Oh, how she envied that version of herself. How she wished that were still the case.

It had only been a couple weeks since giving the rough draft back to Nathaniel, and Marinette hadn’t entirely prepared herself that morning to see Nathaniel enter the classroom with a stack of papers in his arms.

Of all the days for her to arrive to class early.

She drummed her fingers nervously against her desk, feeling Alya physically perk up beside her at the sight of what Nath was carrying.

He smiled up at Marinette and began placing the comic books on various people’s desks— the people who had subscribed to the comic, no doubt. He placed one in front of Nino’s seat, in front of Adrien’s, Alya’s, her’s… 

“Awesome!” Alya cheered, to the humble amusement of Nathaniel, “It’s finally out!”

“Yeah…” Marinette muttered under her breath, staring down at the cover of the issue. Well… at least Chat was alive on the cover. That was a good sign, right? Maybe they’d scrapped it. Maybe Chat wasn’t going to die at the end of the issue after all. It was still possible…

Nino and Adrien entered the room, both of their faces lighting up when they saw the issues on their desks. Marinette sucked in a sharp breath.

“Aw, sweet!” Nino sat down and shoved the comic into his bag, “I just finished catching up on it, too. Timing couldn’t be better for this to come out.”

Adrien smiled down at the issue before tucking it away in his backpack, “I’ll have to read it during lunch!”

Marinette slid her own copy into her backpack without a word, her mind racing even as Ms. Bustier started class. If they hadn’t ended up scrapping it… how would her friends react to Chat Noir’s death? 

* * *

Pushing her lunch around with her fork, Marinette stared at the cover of the issue sitting before her.

She wished she could talk to Tikki, maybe get some pep talk before forcing herself to open it— but with her mom cleaning the counter right next to her, it wouldn’t exactly be a good idea.

_ Come on, Marinette! You’re Ladybug! _ Marinette squared her shoulders, as if to intimidate the paper,  _ It’s just a comic book! It can’t scare you! _

With a new wave of confidence, Marinette grabbed the issue and flipped through the pages. She’d already read it, so she didn’t need to pay much attention to the dialogue. Everything seemed to be mostly the same and—

Chat went splat. Again.

Oh  _ good! _ No, that’s great. Really. What Marinette really needed was to see Chat’s blood in  _ color _ this time! And to see Ladybug crying over his body in high definition! Yeah, that’s definitely the improvement the comic needed.  _ Thank you, Nathaniel. _

Marinette groaned aloud and hit her forehead against the table. She felt like she was going to be sick.

“Marinette, dear, are you alright?” her mom asked, turning to her with concern in her eyes. Marinette scrambled to sit back up straight.

“Yes, maman!” Marinette scrambled to excuse herself, “It was nothing!”

With her mom satiated, Marinette picked at her food and looked at the last few panels of the issue with a frown. They still killed him off. They didn’t scrap it at all… and now she was wishing she had added critique to that certain plotline.

It was way too dark for Marinette’s tastes. What would a Ladybug and Chat Noir comic be without Chat Noir? Why would they kill off a major character? Did comic books usually kill off characters? Was that a thing?

* * *

“Oh yeah, that’s a thing,” Alya explained to Marinette as the two of them approached the entrance to the school, “Comics can get pretty dark. I wasn’t expecting Nath and Marc to take that route, though. Maybe it’s a fakeout?”

“I hope so…” Marinette whispered, her attention suddenly drawn to the two boys approaching the pair. But even Adrien’s presence couldn’t pull her out of her low mood, and that was pretty alarming. 

“Dudes,” Nino began, “did you guys read the comic?” 

They all nodded.

“Mari and I were just talking about it,” Alya snorted, “It was pretty intense, huh? What’d you guys think?”

Marinette’s eyes were locked on Adrien, and she quickly noticed how… uncomfortable he seemed. He shifted his bag strap on his shoulder and glanced to the ground.

“I wasn’t expecting them to kill Chat Noir off like that…” Adrien sighed, “I was kind of excited to read a comic with him in it, but… I guess he’s not going to be in it anymore.”

“There’s no way they’re going to keep him dead!” Marinette squeaked out, her hands gripping her backpack straps, “They  _ can’t! _ Ladybug isn’t anything without Chat Noir! They can’t have a comic with one and not the other! It… It has to be a fake out!”

Adrien’s eyes widened, and she tried not to think too much about the fact that Adrien Agreste was  _ staring _ at her... she didn’t think her heart would be able to take it if she did.

“How can it be a fakeout?” Nino asked with genuine curiosity, “Nobody can survive that big of a fall. Plus there was like… a lot of blood. Reverser even said ‘he’s gone.’ Like, I’m pretty he’s dead.”

“Maybe it was all a dream,” Alya suggested with a smirk and a shrug, “Or an…  _ illusion.” _

“Hey, you’re the beta reader, aren’t you, Marinette?” Adrien perked up a bit, looking at her with a spark of hope in his eyes. Marinette wanted to melt right then and there. “Do you know if he’ll be coming back?”

“I-I’m the beta reader, yeah… but I… I don’t think Nath has finished the rough draft for the next issue yet,” Marinette shifted anxiously in her place, “He probably won’t for a bit, either. He can only work on them so fast…”

“Oh, right.” Adrien nodded, “That makes sense. He does all the art himself, huh?”

Marinette nodded as the bell to head to class rung out. The four of them headed up the steps of the school and to class. A familiar heaviness in Marinette’s heart was back, but this time she was at least pretty sure she wasn’t the only one.

“What’d you guys think of the comic?” Nathaniel asked as the four of them entered, a nervous and hopeful smile on his face.

“It was killer, man!” Nino laughed, “Like… literally.”

“Your art’s amazing,” Adrien added, “You’re really talented.”

“Yeah…” Marinette gave Nath a small smile. “Both of you are.”

“I can’t believe you and Marc  _ killed _ Chat Noir!” Alya said, addressing the elephant in the room with a confidence that the other three just didn’t possess. Marinette almost flinched, even despite the friendly tone of Alya’s voice, “You guys are wild!”

“Heh… yeah.” Nathaniel rubbed at the back of his neck. “Marc and I have been planning this plotline for a while. I know it’s kind of weird since he’s a real person and all… but it’s not like he or Ladybug are actually going to read it, you know?”

Marinette and Adrien fidgeted where they stood.

“Well, who knows?” Alya smirked. “I’m  _ pretty _ sure they read my blog, and if I make a post about your comics, maybe they’ll read them.”

“Eh…” Nathaniel shrugged, “That’d be cool, but we don’t want to offend them or anything.”

“It’s your story,” Adrien said with a kind, albeit sad smile, “You can write what you want. I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir wouldn’t be upset at you for it.”

Marinette nodded numbly. Hearing people talk about her in third person to her face was always strange. She wasn’t sure when she’d really get used to it.

* * *

The second Marinette got home, she collapsed onto her chaise and let out a long, pained  _ groan. _

“Marinette…” Tikki said, and Marinette knew that the kwami was hovering right over her head. It did not, however, stop Marinette from continuing to whine into her pillow. “What’s wrong?”

“They killed him…” Marinette whined, flipping herself over onto her back, “... He’s dead, Tikki.”

“Who is?”

“Chat Noir!” Marinette groaned, “In— In the comic!”

“Oh…” Tikki watched her for a moment, confused. “I thought you already knew that.”

“I did!” She moaned, “But I— I didn’t want to have to see it  _ again!” _

“It’s just a comic book, Marinette,” Tikki said, her voice gentle and understanding as she perched herself right beside her chosen on the chaise, “Chat Noir is fine.”

“But there’s still… what ifs, you know?” Marinette whispered, closing her eyes in a small attempt to cover her own emotion. “I just… didn’t want to have to read about that.”

“Fiction is created to be enjoyed,” Tikki advised carefully, “If you don’t enjoy it, you don’t have to consume it. You don’t have to read the comics.”

“But— But Nathaniel and Marc are my friends!” Marinette griped, “What should I say to them?  _ ‘Hey, you put a lot of effort into these comics, dedicated the first issue to me, and made me the beta reader... But guess what! I don’t like them and I don’t want to read them anymore! _ ’?”

Tikki grimaced, and Marinette huffed. “I  _ can’t _ do that, Tikki. I can’t do that to—”

Marinette was cut off by her chaise rumbling beneath her. She gasped and sprung up into a sitting position, staring in horror as the walls of her room shuddered, her pencil cup fell off her desk, and her photos fell off her walls.

Everything was shaking.

“Earthquake!” Marinette squeaked out, fumbling to her feet and towards her trap door to escape.

“It might be an akuma!” Tikki reminded Marinette. This wasn’t the time to evacuate the house or hide under a desk like a normal person… she was supposed to transform.

“Right!” Marinette gasped, “Tikki, _ spots on!” _

* * *

Ladybug stood crouched atop a building, squinting her eyes at the epicenter of the quakes.

An akuma victim. Just as Tikki had suspected.

Clutching onto the roof’s banister to keep herself steady (while wordlessly hoping that the building wouldn’t collapse beneath her feet), she leaned forward and tried to take in all should could about their latest villain.

It was a man, perhaps in his twenties or thirties (it was hard to tell when they were all costumed up). His body seemed to have been comprised of dirt and clay, his legs wide as stumps. With every step he took, Paris around him shook.

Ladybug heard something land behind her, but she didn’t have to turn her head to know who it was.

“I don’t know where his akuma is…” she muttered under her breath, eyes still locked on the man stomping down the road,  “Luckily, he doesn’t seem to have caused too much damage.”

“Oh yeah, I’m really  _ trembling, _ ” Chat Noir’s voice spoke from behind her, and she couldn’t help the satisfied little smirk on her lips as he stepped up to stand beside her. Hearing Chat talk to her, happy and in the flesh, seemed to wash some of her previous anxieties away. “Guy can cause a natural disaster, but so far all he’s done is make things a little wobbly.”

“We don’t know what he’s capable of.” Ladybug pushed herself up onto her feet, the shaking of the building they were atop of having eased up as the akuma wandered away. “He could get really dangerous if we anger him.”

Chat Noir twirled his belt tail in his hand, a bright smile on his face. “We sure got a lot on our  _ plate _ , huh?”

Ladybug grabbed her yoyo, revving it up to toss in the direction of the akuma… but she stopped herself. She turned to Chat Noir. “Was that supposed to be a pun?”

“Yeah.” Chat shrugged. “Like… tectonic plates?”

“Oh my god,” Ladybug groaned, “Just follow me.”

* * *

Ladybug changed her mind. Maybe seeing Chat Noir in the flesh _wasn’t_ the most calming thing for her anxieties.

Chat Noir was… well, he wasn’t dumb. In fact, Ladybug knew for a fact that Chat could actually be quite sharp when he wanted to be. But honestly? Most of the time, she was convinced he  _ didn’t _ want to be.

Chat jumped in without thinking. He worked on impulse and instinct, and sometimes had the habit of bum-rushing right into action without a solid plan. As their superhero careers continued onwards, he was getting better at it (just as she was getting better at her own weaknesses)… but he still had some ways to go. 

While Ladybug watched from afar, trying to decipher what the item of interest on the villain was, Chat Noir rushed forward with a plan to distract. It would have worked, too, if it weren’t for him running towards the  _ earthquake _ akuma on the  _ ground. _

“I am Seismal, and I will take your miraculous!” the akuma victim roared out, stomping his feet on the ground as he saw Chat Noir approach. Chat collapsed onto his knees, unable to keep his balance atop the shaking ground. 

“Chat!” Ladybug yelled, her heart racing as she chucked her yoyo towards him. Wrapping Chat up in her string, she tugged it back and pulled him to where she was, which was a much safer distance from the tremors’ source.

“Whoops!” Chat laughed as Ladybug felt her blood boil, “That was my  _ fault.” _

“You have to be careful!” Ladybug hissed, freeing Chat Noir from his yo-yo prison, “We need a different plan, and one that won’t leave you incapacitated!”

“Well, now that I’m over the  _ aftershock _ of being  _ shaken up _ …” Chat said, amusement in his voice that made Ladybug roll her eyes, “I’m ready to listen to whatever you can think up, bugaboo.”

“You’re pushing it,” she sighed, her anger fading. There was something so bittersweet about the way Chat Noir laughed off the dangerous situations they found themselves in. On one hand, it had a way of lightening up the mood. On the other… she sometimes couldn’t tell if he was taking it seriously or not. “I think we need to try an aerial attack. The quakes won’t affect us if we’re not on the ground.”

“A sneak attack from above?” Chat purred out, “I like it.”

* * *

Bad idea.

It was a terrible idea.

It seemed like such a good plan at first. Ladybug and Chat Noir found themselves perched atop adjacent tall buildings in the direction Seismal was headed, ducked behind chimneys as they waited for him to pass by. Chat Noir had used his cataclysm to create a road block, so that once Seismal arrived he would have to stop. And then Chat Noir would spring down and attack the akuma from above, distracting him long enough for Ladybug to spot the akumatized object.

It seemed perfect, and everything was going according to plan.

Until Chat Noir jumped.

And Ladybug felt her heart stop.

Suddenly, she found herself second guessing everything. The apartment buildings they were perched upon were too high off the ground. Did Chat even have his baton on him? She didn’t remember seeing him drop it, but the anxiety boiling in her heart told her that it was  _ possible _ that he had forgotten it _. _ Which meant that it was  _ possible _ that Chat Noir was plummeting to his death and—

With her body running on mindless panic, she chucked her yoyo, snatched the falling Chat up, and yanked him up onto the rooftop she was on.

The wave of relief that Chat hadn’t hit the ground, however, was quickly washed away by the way that Chat was  _ gawking _ at her.

“THERE YOU ARE!” Seismal bellowed out, slamming his feet against the ground in a way that made the apartment building they were on sway. 

Ladybug gasped and collapsed onto her knees, trying to find purchase on the rooftop. She noticed Chat struggling in her yo-yo strings.

She couldn’t believe she’d ruined their whole plan.

With a new spark of adrenaline (as if she hadn’t had enough already), Ladybug unlatched the yoyo from Chat as quickly as she could, latched her left arm around his torso, and tossed her yoyo blindly and sloppily in the opposite direction of Seismal as best she could with the tremors. 

Once they’d landed, Ladybug set Chat down. She was still shaking and she realized it wasn’t the akuma that was causing it this time.

“What was that!?” Chat gawked at her, his voice full of betrayal, “I— We had that! Why’d you catch me?”

“I don’t know!” Ladybug spat and squared her shoulders, trying to regain control of the situation, “I— I don’t know, okay? I don’t  _ know!” _

“What were you thinking?” Chat asked, exasperated.

“I told you: I don’t KNOW!” Ladybug pulled at her pigtails in frustration, her face flushed in frustration and embarrassment, “I just— It doesn’t matter! We have to try again!”

Chat Noir’s ring beeped, as if to remind them “I already used my cataclysm! I can’t do it again.”

Taking a shaky breath, Ladybug called out “Lucky Charm!”

A tub of glue fell in her hands. Time to try their plan a second time.

* * *

“I’m an idiot!”

“No you’re not, Marinette!”

“I’m an embarrassment!”

“Marinette, it all worked out!”

“A stupid comic book!” Marinette whined, pushing the palms of her hands against her face, “Just a— just a stupid comic book, and what does it make me do...!?”

Tikki sighed.

“Ruin  _ everything! _ That’s what!” Marinette clutched her pillow to her chest as she lectured her skylight, “Oh yeah, what a smart idea, Ladybug! Just ruin the  _ whole _ plan and endanger all of Paris because you were afraid of Chat Noir falling! As if he hasn’t already fallen like, a billion times before? From heights a billion times higher?”

“Marinette, it was the heat of the moment, and everything turned out fine in the end. I don’t think he was upset at you, just confused. … I mean, he fist bumped you like normal.”

“Augh!” Marinette shoved her pillow into her face and muffled out a, “I’m an idiot!”

“No you’re not!”

She groaned into her pillow as Tikki carefully sat down beside her.

“Marinette…” Tikki spoke softly, “Chat Noir is going to be okay. You don’t have to worry so much about him.”

“But he’s always getting himself hurt…” Marinette sniffled, and Tikki nuzzled herself against her neck.

“It’s nothing you can’t fix…” Tikki whispered, “He’s fine. He’s strong. He’s capable of taking care of himself.”

“I know…” Marinette mumbled, “... I’m just… worried.”

“That’s okay,” Tikki assured, “it’s okay to feel the way you’re feeling… but you don’t have to let it consume you.”

Marinette sighed and removed the pillow from her face, wiping away the dampness from her cheeks. “I just have a strong emotional response to fiction, I guess.”

“We should watch that show I like…” Tikki smiled, “The one with the bears.”

“Yeah…” Marinette sighed and sat up, pulling out her smartphone, “I could use the distraction.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I asked my dad for suggestions on "cheesy earthquake-based supervillain names", my dad suggested "Col. Lapse". I didn't end up using it (mostly because nothing actually collapses) but honestly it was genius so shout out to my dad for that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILER WARNING: contains some mentions of events in Glaciator, Anansi, and Sandboy

“Have you been feeling okay, bug?”

Ladybug sighed, clenching her fists at her side. A part of her was expecting this, really. She had certainly acted off during the last akuma battle, and perhaps it was naïve of her to believe that Chat Noir would let it go without question, but she’d really just prefer to go on to patrol and pretend that it had never happened.

Forcing her shoulders to relax, she whipped around to face Chat and forced a smile on her face. “Of course! Why?”

A brow of Chat Noir’s mask rose, and Ladybug knew that she wasn’t being convincing. Marinette had always been a terrible actress. Why couldn’t Ladybug come with magic lying powers?

“Really, Chat...” Ladybug sighed when she realized he was waiting for her excuse, “I’m fine. I’m sorry about what happened, and it won’t happen again.”

“No, it’s fine,” Chat clarified, eyes staring into her, “I mean, we ended up beating him. You don’t have to apologize, I’m just wondering if you’re okay.”

“Of course I’m okay.” Ladybug huffed, crossing her arms over her chest in mock confidence, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You tell me!” Chat snorted, a weak smile on his face. She hated seeing Chat concerned about her. She hated seeing Chat serious. “Been getting enough sleep? Eating enough?”

“What?” Ladybug couldn’t help but laugh. “You think I pulled you out of the air because I was _hungry?”_

“I don’t know!” Chat laughed as well, and seeing his smile seemed to ease some of the pain in her heart. “Look, I’m grasping at straws here!”

“You haven’t even made a single joke since you got here,” Ladybug mused playfully, “Maybe _you’re_ the one feeling off?”

“Only because I’ve been worried about you…” Chat smirked. “But I guess there’s nothing new there. You’re _always_ on my mind, after all.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be worried. I, uh… just haven’t been getting enough sleep. That’s all.”

“Oh yeah? Why not?”

“Homework,” she quickly said, “And, uhh… chores. Projects. Tv. You know. The usual.”

“And fighting supervillains?” Chat offered.

“Yes!” She chirped and clapped her hands together, “Yes, definitely that! You know… Patrols. They always, uhh, rile me up. And then it’s hard to sleep once I get home. You know?”

“Really?” Chat’s eyes widened, and she felt a small wave of guilt over her heart. He shouldn’t have been this easy to lie to. “We can start patrols sooner if you’d like, or I could take them over for a bit while you catch up on your slee—”

“No!” Ladybug quickly cut him off, “No, no, no. It’s okay! It’s not— It’s not just patrols. I… Don’t worry about it. I can figure it out, Chat. I’ll be well rested again in no time.”

“If you say so.”

“I’m fine, you’re fine. We’re fine.” Ladybug nodded. “We’re good! We’re _so_ good. We’re both alive and well, and everything is good.”

“It… yeah.” Chat’s eyes widened. “That sure is… true. I agree.”

“Yep!” Ladybug chirped, “And now we’re going to go patrol! And we’re not going to die!”

“Y… Yeah…” Chat furrowed his brows. “Why would we die?”

“I don’t know!” Ladybug huffed, snatching her yoyo from her hip, “We _won’t_ die! I said we _won’t._ So why would I know why we’d die if we won’t die?”

“Huh?” Chat blinked, “What are you talking about?”

“No one’s going to die tonight,” Ladybug said, voice stern.

“My Lady?”

“I’m _tired!”_ Ladybug quickly tried to remind him. She was being too obvious, acting too strange, and she knew it. She hated her tendency to word vomit, but usually it was reserved mostly for Adrien, not Chat. “I— sorry! A lot’s been on my mind, and I’m, uhh, sleepy, so I’m talking weird. I know it. It’s fine.”

“Maybe you should go and get some rest?” Chat frowned. “I can take care of things tonight, don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight!” She scoffed, “What if you get hurt?”

“On patrol!?” Chat gawked at her, and she could feel her cheeks flare up with embarrassment. “I— I’ll be fine! I can handle myself, Ladybug!”

“Yeah, well, if you got hurt, how would I forgive myself?” She snapped at him, “If something happened to you and I did nothing to stop it, what kind of hero would I be!?”

The silence between them was quite possibly the worst reaction she could have imagined. With her awkward and insecure words floating in the air between them, Ladybug could feel her face turning as red as her suit. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore. She didn’t want to think about how much she’d embarrassed herself. She revved her arm back, ready to chuck her yoyo and soar off over the city to begin patrol, but Chat grabbed her wrist before she could.

“Ladybug…” Chat said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. She wanted to throw up. “What brought this up?”

Ladybug swallowed, eyes staring out over the lights of the city. What was she supposed to say? ‘I read a _dumb fictional comic_ where you died and it upset me’? How pathetic was that?

“Nightmares,” she forced out. She wasn’t exactly sure whether that excuse was more or less embarrassing. “I’ve, um… been having nightmares.”

“You have?” Chat whispered, his voice so soft and sweet and gentle and _understanding,_ and she realized it was the voice he used to console akuma victims. She felt pathetic. “What about?”

After a moment of reluctance, Ladybug glanced to meet his eyes and instantly regretted it. His soft, compassionate eyes, staring at her with such comforting understanding that she felt like she could melt into the ground right then and there. What would she do if she lost him? Her best friend?

“Y-You… um…” Ladybug muttered out, her eyes darting back to the city lights. Her throat felt dry, and she wanted nothing more than to not cry right now. She felt so embarrassed, so confused, so… scared. And she had no reason to be. It was just dumb fanfiction! Why did she have to be so easily affected by these things? She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. After a deep breath, she managed to regain some of her composure. “You falling. And getting hurt.”

There was a moment of painful silence, and Ladybug could feel the anxiety boiling in her stomach.

“So you’ve been dreaming about me?”

Ladybug whipped her body in his direction and shoved at his shoulders, sending him stumbling back a couple feet. “CHAT!”

He regained his balance and grinned at her, his eyes sparkling in the Parisian lights as he stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. She pouted at him and his eyes softened.

“You know I’m just kidding,” Chat said with a smile and tilted his head like a damn cat, “But Ladybug… I’m okay. And I’m going to keep _being_ okay. You don’t have to worry about me, okay?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Uh huh.”

“Really.” Chat squeezed her shoulders, “Look. I get it. I get nightmares a lot, too.”

Ladybug hesitated, her shoulders tensing. “You… do?”

“Yeah,” Chat said softly, leaning forward so their faces were merely inches apart. She would be uncomfortable if it weren’t for her complete trust in him, or the fact that their jobs required constant close proximity. Personal space didn’t really exist with the two of them, “But it’s not real, you know? You’re alive, I’m alive. We’re still friends. We’re still here.”

“Still friends?” Ladybug managed a smile. “Why wouldn’t we be friends?”

“I dunno.” Chat shrugged and let go of her shoulders. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? Because it’s just… nightmares.”

“You still scared that I’ll attack you with a sword?” Ladybug placed a hand on her hip and smirked.

“Sandboy exaggerated things!” Chat laughed.

“You know I’d never hate you, right?” Ladybug said, her voice now stern, “Never. I don’t think it’d be possible.”

“Okay,” Chat nodded, “I know that. And you know that I can take care of myself, right?”

She hesitated, nibbling at her bottom lip. “I suppose.”

Chat narrowed his eyes and Ladybug grabbed her yoyo once more.

“Let’s just start patrol, okay, Chat?” Ladybug chucked her yoyo and latched it onto a distant chimney, readying herself to pull on the now taut string, “And… thank you for talking to me.”

Chat pulled his baton out, expression unreadable. “... Of course.”

* * *

Marinette managed to arrive to class early— which was remarkable, really. The one benefit to a lingering feeling of anxiety in her chest was that it made waking up a little bit easier.

Not that she got much sleep, though.

Marinette stifled a yawn and noticed Nathaniel enter the classroom. She gave him a lazy little wave and a small smile as he ascended the steps to her table.

“Good morning, Nate.”

“Hey, Marinette,” Nathaniel greeted kindly, leaning forward to talk to her, “So you and your friends like the comic, right?”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “Oh, um, yeah. We all really love it.”

“How good at you at keeping spoilers?” Nathaniel asked with a little smirk, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Umm…” Marinette trailed, her sleep deprivation fogging her mind as she tried desperately to think of a good answer. She wanted to say she was good, but she also had a terrible tendency to word vomit whenever she was emotionally invested in something. … Or around Adrien.

“I won’t make you stop, your corrections are really cool and I’d still like to have you as a beta,” Nathaniel quickly clarified with some nervousness, “But if you want, you don’t have to do it anymore. That way, you can read it the same time your friends do… and you won’t have to worry about accidentally spoiling it or something. It’s fine if you still want to, I mean—”

“Yes!” Marinette squeaked, perking up with sudden interest. Here Nathaniel was, providing her with a totally legitimate and inoffensive excuse to not have to read over the death arc twice over. Maybe now she could even pretend to read it even when she wasn’t! “Yeah, that— That sounds like a great idea, Nathaniel. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone!”

“Okay, no problem!” Nathaniel perked up with a smile, seemingly relieved that his words hadn’t offended, “I totally get it!”

Marinette smiled as Nathaniel headed to the back of the classroom to take his seat. She could just feel Tikki fluttering around in her purse, and she hoped her kwami was proud of her. The less of the comic she consumed, the better her mental health would be… right?

But then again… now she had to wait even _longer_ to find out if Chat Noir survived.

* * *

She hated how much Chat Noir was on her mind.

Not just the dumb comic, but Chat Noir in general. It wasn’t all about whether or not Chat Noir was alive in the fictional universe, but the real life implications of Chat Noir’s own self-sacrificial tendencies… or the way he admitted to her that he had frequent(?) nightmares, apparently about them no longer being friends.

Chat Noir was such a mystery to her. When she had first met him, she had seen him as an arrogant show-off. She was aware that he was kind, of course, and had always had a very positive opinion of him, but only recently was she realizing how _wrong_ her first impressions of him were.

Because Chat Noir was arguably one of the most insecure people she knew. At the slightest offense, Chat Noir gets defensive and self-conscious. Chat’s worst nightmare, according to Sandboy, was Ladybug _not liking him._ She couldn’t even bring Carapace into battle without him wondering if he’d been replaced, and she couldn’t miss a dinner date (that she never even agreed to coming to) without him feeling stood up.

And she couldn’t be in danger without him jumping into the line of fire and sacrificing himself for her sake.

Chat Noir was a strange character. Like he put on a façade of boastful confidence, when really he seemed like a lost puppy (or, in this case, kitten) seeking validation at every turn. Marinette had been observing this slow reveal of his character for a while now, but with everything going on she couldn’t help but think about it more. Maybe if—

“Is that Chat Noir?”

Marinette did everything she could to not _scream_ as she scrambled to catch the pen that she graciously chucked directly above her head. Because Adrien Agreste was suddenly leaning over her desk, and she was suddenly pulled out of her trance and back into the present moment.

In study hall.

While she was trying to study for an upcoming history exam.

But looking down at her paper, she’d doodled about 5 pictures of Chat Noir instead.

“O-Oh, umm— no!” Marinette floundered, fumbling to cover the pages, “It’s, um— I mean— It’s not— It could be?”

She didn’t know what about Adrien made her so embarrassed about everything. She supposed, in retrospect, there wasn’t anything particularly shameful about drawing Chat Noir. But Adrien had a way of making her second guess everything she’d ever done, even despite his blind approval of all things Marinette.

 _Dieu,_ he was so sweet. She wanted to kiss his face.

“It looked like it!” Adrien beamed, his eyes sparkling with a warmth that made Marinette want to melt into a puddle, “Can I see?”

Marinette nodded dumbly, silently pushing her notebook towards him. She could feel her face burning up as Adrien took the papers from her and looked them over, a happiness glowing from him that she only saw on occasion.

“I was just, um—,” Marinette coughed into her hand, trying to steady her thoughts to form coherent words, “doodling.”

“These are amazing, Marinette,” Adrien sighed happily, and Marinette had to convince herself that she was imagining the glow of pink on his cheeks, “You draw him so well. You got his suit design down, too. I bet he’d really like these.”

“O-Oh, um, w-well,” Marinette stuttered, “I can’t draw him as well as… not as good as Nathaniel, anyways. But um—”

“Let me see!” Alya leaned forward, snatching the notebook out of Adrien’s hands. Marinette was relieved that Adrien didn’t seem to mind— oh how she wished she had Alya’s casual confidence around him.

Alya whistled, “Adrien’s right, Mar. You got his suit _down._ ” She raised a playful brow up at Marinette and smirked. “Have you been staring at pictures of Chat Noir?”

“I— What!? No!” Marinette squeaked, snatching the notebook from Alya’s hands. She wasn’t lying, she _didn’t_ stare at pictures of Chat Noir. She just… happened to be Ladybug, and happened to encounter Chat Noir on a near daily basis with constant close proximity. “No! Of course not! I just— I mean— Why would I—”

“Marinette’s a fashion designer, right?” Adrien smiled up at Marinette, who could just feel her heart catching in her throat, “Maybe she just likes his suit’s design?”

Alya laughed, but Marinette was thankful for the out that Adrien was providing her. Pretending to be interested in Chat’s fashion sense was a much better excuse than pretending to be interested in _Chat._ Besides, it wasn’t entirely a lie. His suit was nice. “Yeah! Yeah— that’s… that’s it.”

“What do you think about the bell?” Adrien asked, a grin on his face that had a strange familiarity to it that Marinette couldn’t quite put her finger on, “My friend and I have a bet going on.”

“A bet?” Alya asked with playful interest, her brow raised, “What kind of bet?”

“A bet on whether or not Chat’s bell is dumb.” Adrien suppressed a little laugh. “If I lose, I have to buy a _lot_ of… cheese. Don’t ask.”

“I didn’t know Nino liked cheese so much.”

“It’s not Nino!” Adrien quickly clarified, “No, I— It’s a friend from modeling. He’s got some weird thing going on with cheese. It’s super weird. He’s super weird.”

Marinette couldn’t help but giggle. The playful side of Adrien wasn’t something she saw often, but when she did, she _adored_ it. He was so cute.

“Well, what side are you on, Adrien?” Alya smirked, “Do you think his bell is dumb?”

“I can’t tell you,” Adrien said, “That’d make my polling biased, and I need real answers. This is very serious.”

It took a few seconds of basking in the warm glow of her heart for her to realize that they went silent and their eyes were on _her._

“What do you think, Marinette?” Adrien asked, his eyes _hopeful_ , “You know fashion. What do you think of his bell?”

And Marinette wanted to die.

Was this a test? It felt like a test. Because here Adrien was, asking her a question that she _knew_ he was hoping for a specific answer for, and she didn't want to disappoint him. Adrien could ask her ‘water sure is dry, huh?’, and she’d happily tell him ‘yes’. But here she didn’t know what he wanted her to say, and the fear of messing up her answer and accidentally making Adrien destitute from cheese costs was gnawing at her mind.

Marinette reminded herself that Adrien was the son of Gabriel Agreste, and as such, probably had refined fashion tastes. This strange and mysterious cheese-loving stranger, however, sounded like a weird character. If she had to make a bet, she’d guess that Adrien didn’t like the bell and the Cheese Guy did. But…

Insulting Chat Noir behind his back, _just after_ her mind was filled with thoughts of worry for him, didn’t sit well in Marinette’s gut.

Alya elbowed her in said gut, and she remembered that she had to provide an actual answer.

Well, she supposed she might as well be honest.

“I think it fits him,” Marinette said, eyes locked onto Adrien’s with a sudden peak of confidence. She was going to tell Adrien the truth, whether he disagreed or not. This was a momentous occasion, probably. “It’s… cute. It’d be weird on someone else, but he’s silly and… I think it works with his personality.”

Adrien was great at keeping a poker face while he waited for Alya’s answer. Marinette’s heart was racing in fear that she’d said the wrong thing.

“I gotta agree with Marinette,” Alya added with a shrug, “It’s totally ridiculous and over the top, but _he’s_ ridiculous and over the top. So I mean, it works.”

Adrien’s emotionless face melted away into a grin of pure _relief._ Marinette almost gasped as Adrien leaned forward closer to the both of them and quietly exclaimed “I’m so glad you think so!”

Marinette felt like her heart could beat right out of her chest, but instead her physical response was an awkward forced giggle. Alya and Adrien didn’t seem to pay it any mind, however.

“Like... Chat Noir doesn’t want to be intimidating, you know?” Adrien said quickly, his voice hushed, “The bell is a nice little thing on his costume that shows that he’s not trying to be some sleek scary anti-hero! Not all black cats have to be bad luck, right? Some are just… house cats. Maybe Chat Noir just wants to be a house cat.”

“Kids love it,” Marinette quickly added.

“They do!” Adrien nodded, seeming like he was boiling over with excitement. “Kids love Chat’s bell! And it like… actually jingles, which is hilarious. And imagine how weird Chat Noir would look without a bell! He’d be in all black, which seems way too dark for what he’s going for. Right?”

“Have you asked Nino what he thinks yet?” Marinette asked, and Adrien shook his head.

“I was gonna ask him in class, but he’s out sick today. I’ll probably text him after school. I really hope he likes it.”

“I didn’t know you were such a Chat Noir fanboy, Adrien,” Alya noted with an amused smirk, and Marinette noticed Adrien’s look of embarrassment.

“Eh… I mean, not really,” Adrien coughed awkwardly, “He’s okay, but Ladybug’s better.”

Marinette narrowed her eyes, and the teacher re-entered the classroom as Adrien turned back to his notes.

Flattery aside, she really didn’t really appreciate that comment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for this fic to be a lot of self-indulgent bs because that's what I'm all about


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next issue is released.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for some angst!!

Marinette was getting better.

She was starting to forget about her worries, and the last few akuma attacks went without much problem. Well… not much problem in comparison to other akuma attacks. Of course, some people got turned into seashells, some buildings got turned into cake frosting, and the Eiffel Tower got destroyed about five times, but nothing was particularly new about that.

Chat Noir was fine. Ladybug was fine. She had some anxieties of Chat throwing himself in the line of fire, but thankfully nothing too catastrophic happened and the pair always left the battles unscathed. She could handle this. She just had to distract herself, not think about dark things like death, keep watching her feel-good cartoons with Tikki (who said you could ever be too old for cartoons?), and focus on the fact that Chat Noir was, above else, a huge dork.

The literature discussion they had last week on how comic relief characters are often killed off was not something she wanted to think about. Her life wasn’t some narrative! She had control of the situation. She would protect Chat Noir, Chat Noir would protect her, everything would be fine, everything would be great, she just had to keep her thoughts positive and—

Nathaniel entered the classroom with a stack of comic books in his arms.

Marinette felt like she could scream.

She gripped tight at the edge of her desk, eyes bulging as she watched Nathaniel hand the comic books to his subscribers. Nino happily accept his issue, Adrien graciously accepted his (though, Marinette could’ve sworn she’d seen his shoulders tense), Alya excitedly snatched her issue out of Nathaniel’s hands (much to Nathaniel’s amusement), and Marinette took her issue.

She stared down at the comic book, now laying flat on her desk. The cover was an image of Ladybug... crying.

_Uh._

“Oh man,” Alya whispered, voice hushed as Ms. Bustier entered the classroom, “I’ll have to read it at lunch.”

Marinette bounced her leg to relieve some of her anxious energy as she shoved the issue into her bag.

She shouldn’t read it.

… But she couldn’t _not_ read it.

No, she had to read it.

It was probably okay anyways, right? The cover was just… to be dramatic. Chat Noir was probably alive! It was fine! They wouldn’t kill him off! Maybe the issue would explain that death is just a fake concept and nobody ever dies and Chat Noir is actually immortal.

She had hope.

* * *

The first panel was Chat Noir in a casket.

Marinette wanted to scream.

She stabbed her plate forcefully with her fork, muffling some screams through her teeth before opting to repeatedly bang her forehead against the dinner table and—

“Marinette!” Sabine called from the room over, “What are you doing? Are you alright?”

“NOTHING, MAMAN!” Marinette called back, “I’m fine! Sorry!”

But she wasn’t fine. She wasn’t sure what she was, actually. Was she furious? Anxious? Sad? Disappointed? This was honestly just… ridiculous.

She glared down at the panel, her shoulders squared. Chat Noir was in a damn casket.

Actually, she wanted to laugh… because _Chat Noir_ was in the casket. Not his civilian identity. Not some mysterious blond boy, but the damn superhero. Did kwamis continually power up their holders, even when they were dead? She wished she could laugh at the absurdity of it, but Marinette had never been one to have a particularly dark sense of humor.

Deciding that her lunch wasn’t particularly appetizing, Marinette turned her attention back to the comic and continued reading it.

“Marinette…” Tikki’s voice drawled out from her purse in a disappointed tone, quiet enough that her mom couldn’t hear from the room over. “You shouldn’t read it.”

“Shh, Tikki…” Marinette chewed at her lip. “It’s just a comic. I can handle it.”

Chat Noir’s funeral was happening in a church. There were _many_ vaguely-drawn people attending the service with Ladybug, Mightillustrator, and Reverser at the front of the crowd, wearing black.

There were crying cats in the church window sills. Marinette couldn’t help but snort, even despite her decidedly high blood pressure at the moment.

Ladybug stood up and made her way up to the front of the service. She was wearing a black dress, and Marinette was somewhat confused how her arms were bare despite being suited up. She didn’t care enough to question it— it wasn’t Nathaniel’s fault that he didn’t know how their super powers worked.

Ladybug gave a eulogy about how Chat Noir had been a true savior of Paris, and Marinette almost wanted to cry. She shoved her mouth full of the unappetizing peas if only to distract herself. This was ridiculous. All of this was ridiculous.

_‘Chat Noir was a true hero. Without him, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and Paris wouldn’t be what it is. He’s saved my life more times than I could ever hope to count, and every person in this city owes so much to him.’_

‘ _Words cannot describe how important he was. Words cannot describe how much I, and the rest of Paris, will miss him. I promise that Mightillustrator, Reverser, and I will continue to keep Paris safe, and no one will have to live in fear. However, Chat Noir and his contributions to this city will never be forgotten.’_

The words on the page were getting blurry and difficult to read, so Marinette had to raise her arm to wipe at her eyes.

She hated this. She hated everything about this. She shouldn’t have read it, because it suddenly felt so real all over again. If Chat Noir died, if Chat Noir had a funeral… would this happen? Would she say these things? Could she ever give a eulogy long enough or well-worded enough to ever properly honor his memory? Marinette didn’t think she could.

Sniffling, she ignored the feeling of Tikki fluttering in her purse and turned the page. The panels showed the mourners crying and nodding to Ladybug’s words, and Marinette felt like she could throw up.

Most of the people were drawn with vague characteristics and features, which made sense, since they were supposed to only be a part of the crowd. But a few people, sitting in the front row, were drawn with such care and details that Marinette realized they were supposed to be significant… but she didn’t recognize them at all.

Marinette sniffled and stared at the characters for a moment. It looked like a family of three blond Parisians… A mom, a dad, and a little girl, all with green eyes. It took Marinette a moment to realize what they were supposed to be.

_Chat Noir’s family._

Marinette felt like she was just punched in the face. Because Chat Noir _had_ a family, and only now was she really realizing this. Not just comic book Chat Noir, but the real one. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, because of _course_ Chat Noir would have a family. But… she’d never thought about them before.

If something happened to Chat Noir, she wouldn’t be the only one to suffer. Paris wouldn’t just mourn their hero, his _family_ would mourn their _son._ And suddenly, the pressure of wanting to keep Chat Noir safe was weighing on her with an intensity she never felt before and—

“Marinette, honey, are you okay?”

Marinette gasped and looked up at her mom, who was looking at her with concern in her eyes. Which wasn’t surprising, considering Marinette had tears rolling down her cheeks and oh _dieu_ this was so embarrassing.

“I-I’m okay!” Marinette squeaked out, wiping at her eyes, “It’s just— thuh-this comic is… s-sad.”

“Oh, honey…” her mom cooed sweetly, leaning forward and gently wiping at her eyes, “What’s it about?”

Marinette sighed and tried to calm herself, “... Chat Noir dying.”

“What?” Sabine seemed surprised, “That’s pretty dark. Where’d you get this comic?”

“M-My friends… Nathaniel and Marc wrote it,” Marinette whispered.

“Hm…” Sabine glanced over the comic and frowned, “Oh honey, maybe you shouldn’t read it if it makes you so sad. Chat Noir is a superhero, he won’t die.”

Marinette wanted to argue with that. She wanted to remind her mom that Chat Noir and Ladybug were real people, and they definitely _could_ die. But she didn’t have the energy.

“Thanks, maman…” Marinette sighed. Her mom kissed her cheek, gave her a soft smile, and asked her if she was going to be okay. After many reassurances that she’ll be fine, Sabine finally left the room to head back to what she was doing.

Marinette loved her mom. She loved her family.

Chat Noir probably loved his family, too.

Marinette held her face in her hands and tried desperately to calm her thoughts, but they felt debilitating. She was sad. She was so, so, sad, and so scared, and…

She peeked back up at the panels of the comic. Chat Noir’s little sister… she looked like Shirley Temple. Did Chat Noir have a sweet little sister in real life? How would she feel if her big brother never came back home? How would—

“Marinette…” Tikki whispered, now out of Marinette’s purse and hugging Marinette’s cheek, “Your mom was right. You shouldn’t read it.”

“I-I…” She sniffled, “B-But I… I want to. I-I can handle this, Tikki.”

But not right now.

Marinette closed the comic book and shoved it back into her bag. She couldn’t stomach the second half the comic, not now. She forced herself to eat the rest of her food despite her lack of an appetite, packed up her stuff, and headed back to school with a heavy heart.

* * *

Marinette made it back to school just before class started. She sat down next to Alya in complete silence and sat through the lecture, her mind racing.

She didn’t take a single note. She didn’t know what was happening, or what they were talking about. Suddenly, everyone was standing up and heading out the door… was class over already?

She looked to the clock. No, they weren’t even halfway through class. What was happening?

“Marinette, you coming?” Alya gave a smile somewhere between concern and amusement.

“Wait, sorry,” Marinette stood up, packing up her stuff, “Where are we going? I was—”

“Zoned out. I noticed.” Alya finished her sentence for her, “We’re working in groups on the reading questions, but it’s nice out and there are no classes in the courtyard right now so Ms. Bustier is letting us go outside to work on it.”

“I’m guessing it’ll be the four of us?” Nino offered with a smile, while Adrien readied his supplies.

“Yeah… yeah, okay,” Marinette nodded.

The four of them exited the classroom and sat in the far corner of the courtyard, away from the other groups. They set their notebooks and textbooks down in front of them.

“Question one,” Adrien read aloud, his voice a bit quieter than usual, “What is the significance of—”

“What’d you guys think of the comic?” Alya cut him off, leaning forward with a smile. Marinette wanted to throw up. “You guys read it, right?”

“It was…” Nino let out an awkward little laugh. “Kind of intense.”

“I only read the first half…” Marinette whispered truthfully.

“I read it.” Adrien said simply, expression blank.

“What did you think?” Alya asked, looking over the three of them, “I mean, no spoilers for Marinette on the second half.”

“It was fine,” Adrien said in a very… unconvincing tone. Marinette was glad she wasn’t alone on not appreciating it much, even if Adrien wouldn’t admit it.

“Be honest,” Alya said, clearly having also noticed Adrien’s lie, “Nate and Marc can’t hear us. It’s just us. You don’t have to pretend to like it if you don’t.”

“Dude, Adrien never has bad things to say about anything,” Nino teased, giving Adrien a playful nudge in the gut. Adrien gave a small smile. “You could pour hot soup on his lap and he’d thank you for it.”

“Not true,” Adrien defended weakly, “It was… it was fine. I’m just tired. And I guess I was just hoping they weren’t actually killing Chat Noir off, but… … it’s their comic. They can do what they want, it’s not my place to judge.”

“You’re a consumer, so of course you can judge… to friends, at least.” Alya smiled. “What’d you think? Marinette? Nino?”

“It was pretty dark…” Nino shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t expecting it. Totally killer.”

Adrien gave an amused smile at Nino’s possibly accidental pun.

“I hated it,” Marinette blurted out, cheeks glowing pink from the regret that she was choosing not to act upon, “I… I didn’t like it. It was too much for me.”

Alya shrugged. “That’s valid. I mean, I kinda like it when comics get dark, but… it’s kind of weird, since I’ve actually talked to Chat Noir before.”

“Lucky,” Nino sighed, “I’ve only said like, two words to him.”

“I’ve never met him,” Adrien whispered.

“Really?” Alya seemed surprised. “Not even when Simon Says was attacking your house? I thought Ladybug and Chat Noir were there.”

“Uhh,” Adrien fumbled, a nervous look on his face that he quickly schooled into a more confident one, “He was doing a lot of damage control outside, and I was mostly just in my room the whole time.”

“Taking a shower,” Nino snorted, and Adrien elbowed him in the side.

“I’ve met him…” Marinette muttered, wringing her hands together, “We worked together against Evillustrator… and he’s saved me a few other times, too.”

A ‘few’ other times was a gross understatement. Chat Noir had saved Marinette’s life more times than she could ever hope to count.

“Reading someone you know die is kind of weird,” Alya snorted, “I mean… I dunno. I get what they’re going for. I guess it’s just a consequence of wanting to make a dramatic comic book about real people.”

“It was… really sad…” Marinette muttered, eyes downcast. The three others looked to her.

“Are you okay, Marinette?” Adrien whispered.

“It’s just—” Marinette sighed and gripped at her knees, “What would happen if Chat Noir _actually_ died?”

“Mari—”

“Like, his family?” Marinette furrowed his brow. “How would his family even find out?”

“What do you mean?” Nino asked, confused.

“If Chat Noir died defending Paris, and his identity wasn’t revealed… his family wouldn’t even know what happened to him.”

“Oh, true,” Alya snorted, “That’s a plot hole. His family was sitting in the front, but they shouldn’t have been, huh?”

“Ooohh, is that who they were supposed to be? His family?” Nino said, “That makes a lot of sense. I was wondering who they were.”

“No.” Marinette huffed, “I’m not talking about the comic. I’m talking about real life.”

Adrien furrowed his brow.

“Chat Noir dies, and what does his family think?” Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, “What would his mom think? She cooks dinner and waits for him to come home and he never does, and his plate gets cold and—”

“Whoa, whoa,” Alya cut her off, “Why are you assuming Chat’s _mom_ does the cooking?”

Marinette knew Alya was right, but she ignored her good point and continued, “He’ll never have a chance to play catch with his dad again.”

“People play catch with their dads?” Adrien muttered.

“Man, Mar, you really thought this through,” Nino said, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“And his little sister!” Marinette choked out, feeling her eyes begin to water. She was humiliating herself in front of her friends, but she didn’t care. Not right now. “She sits in the living room, waiting for her big brother to come back home and give her that piggy back ride that he had promised her— but he never does! She spends the rest of her life thinking that her big brother who she always looked up to _abandoned_ her, and she’ll never get that piggy back ride, and the last thing she told Chat Noir was probably something about how his face looked dumb because she’s six and what six year old _doesn’t_ insult their big brother but then she has to live with that being the last thing she’s ever said to him and it’s a weight on her shoulders for the rest of her life and—”

“Marinette, calm down!” Alya gasped and leaned forward, placing a hand on Marinette’s shuddering shoulder, “Breathe!”

“Marinette,” Adrien scooted closer to her, eyes full of concern, “If it makes you feel better, I… I don’t think Chat Noir has a little sister.”

“You don’t know that!” Marinette snapped at Adrien, “He could! He could have m-multiple little sisters! O-Or brothers and— and none of us would know! We _don’t know!”_

Adrien recoiled. “I-I guess…”

“Girl, you’re thinking _way_ too much into this,” Alya whispered to her, “And coming from me, that’s saying something.”

“Man…” Nino muttered, seemingly affected by Marinette’s words, “What about Ladybug’s little sister?”

“Ladybug doesn’t have a little sister,” Marinette pointed out.

“I mean, you don’t know that…” Alya offered slowly.

“Oh my god,” Marinette choked, tears spilling over her cheeks, “What if Ladybug has a little sister?”

“Marinette, oh my god, forget I said anything!” Alya quickly says, wrapping her arms around her form, “You have to calm down, honey.”

Nino and Adrien also scooted closer to her with concern in their eyes. Marinette was mortified.

“Chat Noir’s okay, Marinette…” Adrien consolled, his voice soft and comforting as he rested his hand on her knee in a supportive manner, “He’s fine. He’s alive.”

“Yeah, dude,” Nino said slowly, “It’s only a comic, he’s fine.”

“But what if he’s not for much longer?” Marinette choked, “He’s— He’s gotten h-hurt before. B-Bad things ha-happen to him all the t-time, so— so…”

“Ladybug’s magic always fixes it, though,” Alya whispered, petting at Marinette’s hair in a way that shouldn’t have been as comforting as it was, “She’ll bring him back. She always does, honey.”

“B-But what if it doesn’t this time?” Marinette sniffles.

“Why wouldn’t it?” Nino asked.

“It’s _magic!”_ Marinette hissed through her tears, “It’s— who knows how it works! Magic is fickle and— and maybe the universe will just decide to keep Chat Noir dead!”

“That’s not gonna happen!” Adrien gasped, “Ladybug’s magic is reliable, and… they’re superheroes, Marinette. They know what they’re doing, and they’ll be fine.”

“They aren’t _just superheroes!”_ Marinette choked, “Th-They’re— They’re r-real p-people!”

“We know, we know…” Alya whispered and kept petting at her head, “But you have to trust them.”

“Man…” Nino muttered, eyes downcast, “... It would go both ways, too, huh?”

“What do you mean?” Adrien muttered.

“Like… how would the public know if something happened to them outside of their superhero selves?”

Adrien frowned, and Marinette felt her world crumbling down around her. Because Nino was right.

If something happened to Chat Noir’s civilian self, she’d never know. Ladybug would never know. It would always remain a mystery to her, and then _she’d_ be the one uselessly waiting for Chat Noir to arrive when he never would and—

“I’m sorry Marinette, I’m an idiot, I didn’t mean it, forget I said it!”

“Marinette, breathe! Breathe, honey!”

“It’s gonna be okay! Should we take her to the nurse’s office?”

“No!” Marinette squeaked out, violently wiping at her eyes and pushing Alya away from her, “I’m fine! I’m _fine.”_

“Really, Adrien’s right,” Alya sighed, “We should take you to the nurse’s office.”

“No.” Marinette glared at Alya, her eyes stinging, “I’m fine. I… I’m just being dumb.”

She felt Adrien’s hand on her shoulder, and she felt like she could die. She couldn’t believe she had had a breakdown in front of Adrien.

“You’re not being dumb, Marinette,” Adrien whispered, eyes soft, “It’s okay.”

“I don’t want to go home.” Marinette breathed, “I just… I just want to pretend this never happened. Okay?”

“Then let’s change the subject,” Alya said, “Enough talking about all this dark crap. It’s emotionally draining.”

“Can we talk about Chat Noir’s abs in the comic instead?” Nino offered, “Because, even though he was in a casket, he was _ripped,_ dude.”

Marinette couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped her and she wiped her damp cheeks with a tissue that Alya graciously handed her.

“Yeah, Nate loves to exaggerate Chat’s abs.” Alya laughed along with Marinette.

“Are you sure it’s exaggerated?” Adrien offered with a little smirk.

“Dude, I mean, Chat Noir’s hot and all,” Nino said, and Adrien flushed, “But he’s not _that_ beefy.”

“Chat Noir’s a toothpick,” Alya snickered, “My little sisters could probably lift him.”

“What? No he’s not!” Adrien gaped and Marinette laughed.

When Ms. Bustier called them all back into the classroom, Alya stuck right by Marinette’s side. Luckily, Ms. Bustier seemed to take pity on Marinette’s swollen eyes, and didn’t call on their group much.

* * *

Marinette shouldn’t have been surprised at the multiple texts she’d received after school. She thumbed through her contacts, her face flushed red in embarrassment as Tikki whispered sweet words of encouragement into her ear.

 **From Alya:** _hmu if you need to talk. ilu_

 **From Alya:** _hey wanna have a sleepover this weekend? we can eat lots of ice cream and watch those dumb cartoons you and the twins like_

 **From Nino:** _look at these_

 **From Nino:** [3 memes attached]

 **From Adrien <3:** _How are you feeling? You can text me anytime. I’m always open to talk if you’d like._

 **From Adrien <3:** _About anything._

Her friends were too patient with her. She felt like she could cry all over again, but she knew she shouldn't; not unless she wanted to explain her puffy eyes to Chat Noir during patrol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm someone who grew up with quite a few anxiety problems, and I'm kind of channeling a lot of this into Marinette. So if you're thinking that Marinette is overreacting or that her behavior isn't totally 'normal'... you're right! that's anxiety! and it's irrational and it's terrible
> 
> also, get ready for some ladynoir next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Ladybug was thankful to see Chat Noir already on their rooftop when she arrived. She didn’t think she could handle playing the waiting game, not tonight.

The moment she landed down behind him, he turned to her and smiled, his eyes shining bright in the sunset in a way that made a wave of relief wash over her. Seeing him alive and healthy was such a great feeling; he looked so much better like this than in a coffin.

“Bonsoir, my lady!” Chat bellows out a greeting, bowing to her with his usual Chat Noir flourish, “How has your day been? Mine was pawsitively lonesome without you in it.”

Ladybug let out an awkward little laugh at the unintentionally loaded question. “It was fine.”

Chat blinked, staring up at her in a way that she just knew she’d been caught on her lie. She’d never been particularly good at hiding her feelings. “Fine, huh?”

“It was a long day,” Ladybug sighed with a shrug, “But it was fine. Just a lot’s been on my mind. We should start patrol.”

“Nightmares?” Chat offered, his voice completely void of its usual playful teasing. Man, he really could be sweet when he needed to be, huh?

“No,” She said, crossing her arms, “Not that. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“It doesn’t matter, Chat.” She showed him a smile. “We should just start patrol. I take the west?”

“You know, if it’s bothering you, it matters,” Chat said, standing up straight, “You can talk to me if you want. That’s what partners are for, right?”

“It’s really silly,” she laughed despite herself, “It’s ridiculous, really.”

“I love silly!” Chat beamed and leaned in towards her. She couldn’t help but smile.

She  _ knew _ she shouldn’t ask, but her thoughts were killing her and weighing on her chest and she just wanted answers and not knowing was killing her and—

“What’s your family like, Chat?”

Chat looked flabbergasted. She straightened her back, forcing herself to show an air of confidence in her question that she didn’t actually possess.

“What was that, my lady?”

“What’s your family like?” She repeated.

Chat watched her for a long moment. “Isn’t that a little personal? I thought you didn’t want us to talk about that kind of stuff.”

“I-I mean…” She stumbled, fumbling to regain her faux confidence, “I don’t want names or anything too specifically revealing. Just… generally, what your family’s like. I was just… curious.”

Chat Noir hesitated. “Well, okay. What do you want to know?”

“I’ll start,” Ladybug offered, “I... I live with my mom and my dad. We’re all really close and all get along really well. They can be a little overbearing, but I love them a lot. I don’t have any siblings.”

Chat looked stunned, but there was a sparkle in his eyes as if this was some kind of a magical moment for him. She supposed he did always want to know more about her life.

“So…” She cleared her throat, “What about you? I mean, you don’t have to answer if you’re uncomfortable, I was just curious and—”

“I live with my father,” he said simply.

The first thing that came to Ladybug’s mind was how strange it was to hear Chat Noir, king of casual conversation, referring to his dad as ‘father’. There was something strangely formal about it that seemed alien on Chat Noir’s tongue, but she brushed the thought aside. The second thing that came to her mind, however...

“Not your mom?” She asked, genuinely curious.

Chat Noir shook his head, voice a bit quieter as he said, “No. Not my mother.”

“Oh…” Ladybug frowned. “Your parents are divorced.”

Chat shifted himself uncomfortably, raising a hand to rub at his arm. She noticed the ears atop his head pin back as he said, “... No, they didn't divorce.”

_ Oh. _

Ladybug felt like she was just smacked in the face with a sack of guilt-bricks. 

Because, from Chat’s posture and words, she was pretty sure his mom  _ wasn’t around anymore, _ and how could she be so insensitive? How could she push him to that answer? How could she initiate this conversation in such an inconsiderate way and...  _ oh dieu _ she wanted to chuck herself off of the rooftop in utter shame.

“Oh Chat!” Ladybug squeaked out, throwing her hands up and fumbling with her words, “I didn’t mean to— oh my god, I’m so sorry! Sorry! You don’t have to talk about it— oh my god, I shouldn’t have asked, I’m such an idiot, Chat I’m sorry, oh my god we don’t—”

“It’s okay!” Chat quickly cut her off, a kind smile under his sad eyes, “Ladybug, it’s okay. Really.”

“We don’t have to talk about family anymore if you don’t wa—”

“I don’t have any siblings,” Chat cut her off, “I’m an only child.”

“O-oh…” Ladybug chewed at her bottom lip, trying to relaxed her now tensed muscles, “Um… me too.”

_ Idiot! You already said that! _

Chat Noir smiled and turned around, sitting himself down on the edge of the roof. She stepped up beside him and sat down, her hip brushing against his. It looked like patrol would have to wait.

“She just disappeared one day,” Chat whispered, his eyes gazing over the parisian lights below them. 

“Wh...Who did?” Ladybug asked, swallowing back.

“My mother.”

“Oh, Chat…” Ladybug turned to him, the guilt washing over her once more, “You don’t have to talk about it. I’m really sorry I asked at all, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”

“No, I…” Chat glanced to her, “I kind of…  _ want _ to talk about it. Is that okay?”

Ladybug blinked. “Oh. I… yes, of course. You can talk to me about anything.”

“I just…” Chat whispered. The sadness in his voice and eyes so unusual on him, she just wanted to gather him up in her arms and make everything okay again. “I’ve never really talked to anyone about it before.”

She furrowed her brow. “You haven’t? With anyone?”

“No,” Chat sighed, turning back to the city, “My father… he refuses to talk about it. And my friends are too nervous to ask, I guess… and I never had an excuse to bring it up, so…”

“I see…” Ladybug whispered, glancing down at the streets below. She understood; she didn’t think she’d ever have the courage to ask Adrien about  _ his _ mom, and she’d only asked Chat Noir because she was a bonehead. It didn’t feel like her place, and having never been in that position herself, she didn’t trust herself to be able to handle it with the care that the subject needed. But if Chat Noir wanted to talk about it to her… she’d try. She’d try her damndest. “Were you… were you two close?”

She saw him nod his head from the corner of her eye. She continued to stare out over the city, unsure of what to say next as they sit in painful silence.

Finally, Chat Noir muttered out, voice shaking, “We were really close.”

He was crying.

Chat Noir was crying.

At least, she was pretty sure he was, and Ladybug had no idea what to do in this situation. She’d seen Chat Noir upset before, sure— but not  _ crying, _ and certainly not over something so important like losing his mom. Ladybug felt like her heart shattered into a million pieces.

Does she hold him? Does she respectfully keep her distance? She wasn’t sure. If this was Alya, Rose, Juleka, Myléne, Nino, or… heck, even Adrien, she’d happily scoop them up into her arms. But she wasn’t entirely sure how Chat Noir’s pride factored into this.

But he wanted to talk about it, right? As much as she wanted to change the subject, her discomfort wasn’t the important thing here. If this was therapeutic for Chat, she’d talk about it with him. She could do this for him. She whispered, “When did…?”

At the edge of her vision, she could see Chat raise his hand and wipe at his eyes.  _ Minou… _

“Last year,” he muttered out.

_ Dieu. _

Last year. Chat Noir lost his mom  _ last year _ , which felt incredibly recent. She had known Chat Noir for about a year now, but she still remembered their first encounter and the time she got her miraculous like it was yesterday.

Which meant that, maybe, Chat Noir remembered his mom like it was yesterday.

She could to cry for him.

“Chat…” Ladybug gasped, her hands gripping at the edge of the roof as she resisted the urge to reach out for him, “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

He laughed. Or, she supposed he was trying to— his laughter was forced and strained, as if he was trying to laugh away his pain. She couldn’t take it anymore.

She placed her arm around his waist. She could feel him stiffen at first, but then he dropped his head onto her shoulder. Carefully, she laid her head atop his. She closed her eyes and brushed her nose through his sun-blonde hair, hoping the affectionate gesture was calming for him.

She cared about Chat Noir so deeply, and seeing him in pain like this was heart wrenching. 

The two of them sat in affectionate silence, looking over the Parisian lights until the sun vanished over the horizon.

Eventually, she whispered out, “Imagine if she could see you now.”

“What?” he choked out in surprise.

“You protect Paris on a daily, and you make the citizens feel safe,” Ladybug whispered, “You’re making history. You’re a hero. Imagine how proud she’d be of you.”

If Chat Noir wasn’t crying before, he certainly was now. Ladybug could feel his body begin to shake, and she could hear his breath turn quick and uneven. She noticed him raise a hand to cover his weeping eyes, and it took everything she had to not start weeping along with him.

Ladybug shifted her body, turning herself towards him as she wrapped both arms around his body. Pulling him in close, she pressed her cheek against the side of his head. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted to him to know that he was loved; because he was, and because she wasn’t sure what was going on in his head.

He continued to weep against her as she whispered against his ear, “She’d be  _ so _ proud of you. I’m sure she didn’t want to leave you. Nobody would ever willingly leave you.”

His mom  _ disappeared _ . She wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than the alternative. If her mom ever just up and disappeared, she… she wouldn’t know what to think. She couldn’t imagine.

His hands clutched her back, and she silently thanked her magical suit for protecting her from his claws. She could feel them digging into her, but it wasn’t painful and she knew that he wasn’t doing it on purpose. Her fingers reached up to comb through his hair, and the fact she was petting him like a cat was not lost on her.

They didn’t patrol that night. They held each other in their arms until they grew too tired to stay. She didn’t know what time it was when they forced themselves apart and bid their goodbyes. He thanked her. He apologized. She told him there was no need, and that he could come to her for anything.

After leaping through her skylight, she landed on her bed in a flourish of pink light and promptly passed out from both physical and emotional exhaustion.

* * *

Marinette burst through the classroom door and rushed to her desk, plopping down into her seat just as her name was called for attendance.

Her hair was a mess, her shirt was crinkled, and she’d skipped breakfast, but she made it. She couldn’t believe she made it. With her heart still racing from the adrenaline of the morning rush, she tried to focus on Ms. Bustier’s words and not her own distracting thoughts (or Alya snickering beside her). 

_ Don’t think about Chat. Don’t think about how much sleep you got last night. Don’t think about Chat. Don’t think about how hungry you are right now. Don’t think about Chat. _

“We’re going to be following a similar format to what we did yesterday,” Bustier explained to the class, “But this time, instead of groups of your own choosing, I will randomly assign pairs to answer and discuss questions from last night’s reading in the library.”

Marinette felt her heart drop to her stomach.

“Rose, you’ll be with Max.”

She didn’t know there was a reading last night. 

“Nathaniel will be with Nino.”

She had been so distracted last night, it had completely slipped her mind. 

“Sabrina and Kim.”

She really hoped she got paired with Alya or Myléne or someone who would be patient with her without much judgement. Just not Chloé. Please don’t be Chlo—

“Marinette and Adrien.”

Actually? No, she would prefer to work with Chloé. At least then she could  _ pretend _ to know what she was talking about, and Chloé probably didn’t do the reading either, so she’d be none the wiser. But Adrien?

Oh, she didn’t want to disappoint Adrien. Adrien took his education fairly seriously, and the idea of having to admit to him that she just  _ didn’t do the homework _ and that she thus couldn’t help him with the reading problems was killing her. She didn’t want to be an inconvenience to him, she didn’t want him to hate her— oh  _ dieu _ she wanted to curl up into a hole and never see the sun again.

Alya shot her a wink, most likely to congratulate her, but Marinette weakly mouthed a ‘help me!’ right back. But she knew that Alya couldn’t dig her out of this one. She’d have to face this demon herself.

The students stood up and started filing out of the classroom, grabbing the reading questions from the front desk on their way out. Marinette fumbled to pack up her stuff, aware that Adrien was standing  _ right there _ and was  _ waiting for her _ and she was going to disappoint him and—

“Pretty lucky we got paired together,” Adrien noted kindly, and she felt like she could explode. Why did he have to be so cute? Why did he have to be so sweet? She looked up at him with a nervous grin and a nod and was taken aback by his appearance. 

Now, he didn’t look bad. Adrien Agreste never looked bad; in fact, if it were anybody else in the world, Marinette wouldn’t have noticed that there was anything off about his appearance. But Marinette knew Adrien well, and she knew what he normally looked like. But today?

He looked tired. His hair was just a bit more mussed than usual, and his clothes were just the teensiest bit disheveled. She was pretty certain she could see a shimmer of unblended concealer under his eyes, but forced herself not to stare.

It seemed like Adrien didn’t have too great of a night either.

Great. And now she was going to disappoint him when he already seemed to be having an off day. Why couldn’t she have just slept through class so this wouldn’t be a problem?

The two of them headed to the library and found a nice table in the corner of the room. Once they sat down, Marinette fumbled to pull her textbook and notebook back out of her backpack. Adrien already had his out.

Her heart was racing as she opened the textbook to the page that the short story was supposedly on. 

“Question one,” Adrien began, reading out the questions on the paper. She could hear the exhaustion in his voice. “What did you think of the bartender’s untimely death? What did it symbolize?”

He looked to her for her input. She paled.

She had no idea what the story was about. She didn’t even know what the title of it was, and she certainly didn’t know anything about a symbolic death. What was she supposed to do? Admit to Adrien that she didn’t do the reading and disappoint him? She couldn’t do that; not when she wanted nothing more than to get on his good side.

A character died? A bartender? Okay. She’d read stories where characters had died before! She could do this. She could bullshit her way through this!

“He shouldn’t have died! He didn’t deserve it!” Marinette squeaked out, but instantly felt like an idiot for saying it. That wasn’t really… an analysis. And from the surprise on Adrien’s face, she was really, really hoping the bartender wasn’t an antagonist.

“Yeah, it was kind of sad,” Adrien agreed, and Marinette sighed in relief. He turned to the textbook and started flipping through the pages of the short story, “The last words he said to the narrator were kind of heavy, if I remember correctly. Let me see if I can find it—”

“There was so much left to say!” Marinette blurted out, determined to contribute to the discussion, “So much was left unsaid and— and the bartender didn’t deserve to die! Who does the author think they are, killing off the bartender? The bartender was just trying to serve drinks and make people happy a-and— and the narrator is nothing without the bartender!”

The dumbstruck look on Adrien’s face told Marinette that she had maybe gone a little too far. 

Her face flushed and her legs shook under the table, fully aware that she was digging herself a deeper hole as she tried to further explain her point. “The drinks will never taste the same without the bartender. Nobody else can replace the bartender! It wouldn’t be the same! The narrator should’ve been able to bring him back!”

“Bring him back?” Adrien gawked at her.

“With her—” Marinette stumbled. She was making herself a complete fool. She didn’t even know what the genre of this short story was! Was it a fantasy? Sci fi? Classic? “With her… m… magic?”

“‘Her’? Magic?” Adrien asked, genuine concern in his tone as he turned back to the textbook to flip through it, “I might’ve read the wrong story…”

“No!” Marinette gasps, guilt washing over her shame. She didn’t want Adrien to think  _ he _ was the wrong one! She was just making things up! “I-I meant ‘he’! I mean, it was a narrator, right? So th-the story was in first person? So I just… assumed the gender. Sorry. I only skimmed it! I-I mean— I read it! I did read it. But I was just kind of in a rush and—”

The kind laugh that came from Adrien was like a blanket that both warmed her flushed face and muffled her fears. “Don’t worry, Marinette. I only skimmed it too. I want to say the narrator refers to himself as a father at one point but I could be wrong. I don’t remember anything about magic, though?”

“Yeah, well…” Marinette muttered, “Maybe it  _ should _ have magic.”

“That’d definitely make it more interesting,” Adrien agreed, voice genuine as he smiled down at the pages of the textbook, “It was pretty boring. But then again, I wasn’t really in a… reading mood when I read it.”

“Me either…” Marinette whispered, eyes downcast to the table. 

“Oh yeah…” She could feel Adrien’s eyes on her as he spoke, “How was your night?”

She knew that the two of them should be focusing on the study questions, but she’d honestly jump at any chance to not further embarrass herself in front of Adrien. 

“I had a lot on my mind,” She said in earnest, glancing up to meet his eyes.

“About Chat Noir?” Adrien asked, and Marinette felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. He stumbled to clarify, “I mean… you seemed really worried about that comic yesterday.”

“Oh!” Marinette gasped a bit too loud for the library and clasped her hands together, “Yes! The comic! I stayed up all night worried about Chat Noir because of the  _ comic _ !” Her face fell. “And… Oh, I’m sorry. That was really embarrassing. Fiction affects me way more than it should and it’s really dumb, I’m sorry if I freaked you out.”

Adrien quickly shook his head and returned, “No, I totally get it! Fiction actually affects me a lot, too. Back before my father let me go to public school, I spent basically all my free time watching anime. And I could get… emotional.”

Marinette giggled at the thought. “Oh yeah? Do you have any recommendations?”

“A ton!” Adrien beamed at her, and she felt her heart flutter. He continued, “But really, Marinette, I get it. It’s not weird for a comic to affect you. That’s what fiction’s for, right? It’s created  _ to _ make us feel things, so it’s understandable that you reacted to it.”

“Yeah…” She sighed, “It’s just… especially bad when Chat’s a real person.”

There was a kindness in his eyes as he told her, “Chat Noir’s fine, Marinette.”

Technically, she wasn’t sure he was. He sure seemed upset last night, anyways. Hopefully he was feeling better now… “I know. I still haven’t read the second half of the comic because of it, though…”

“You haven’t?” he asked, though he didn’t seem surprised.

“Nope…” Marinette chewed her lip, “Can you tell me what happens? He doesn’t happen to come back to life or anything, does he? It’s okay if you spoil it for me.”

Adrien shook his head. “There was a lot of mourning, and then an akuma breaks in and interrupts the funeral. The second half is basically just the heroes fighting it off.” 

“The heroes…” Marinette whispered, “Except for Chat Noir.”

He swallowed. “Yeah. … Except for Chat Noir.”

Marinette sighed and glanced down at her notebook. She didn’t know if seeing the funeral get interrupted would make the grieving worse for her or not… but she was definitely disappointed to know that he wasn’t magically brought back by the end of the issue.

“Why do people have to die?” Marinette whispered, eyes downcast.

She could feel Adrien’s eyes on her for a long, silent moment. Eventually, she heard him quietly say, “I don’t know.”

_ Great job, Marinette! You just made the whole atmosphere totally somber for no reason whatsoever! _

“The reading!” Marinette squeaked out, snatching the paper of questions off the desk to use as a topic switcher. She reads the next question aloud, “Describe the stages of grief the narrator goes through.”

She groaned and slammed her forehead against the desk.

French class was mocking her.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Marinette.”

“But…” Marinette sighed and glanced up at him, “What if Ms. Bustier calls on us?”

“I’ll make something up for the both of us,” Adrien offered with a smile, and Marinette couldn’t help but giggle. 

She wanted to argue, but really? She didn’t even do the reading, so she was pretty sure she couldn’t handle going through it. She said, “Thank you, Adrien. Um… How was  _ your _ night? Sorry, I forgot to ask…”

“It was good,” Adrien said simply, but considering his appearance, Marinette wasn’t sure that was entirely true. She held her tongue, though. “Kind of… exhausting. I was out late for… a photoshoot, but when I got home I hit the bed and was out like a light.” 

Marinette wanted to say something along the lines of ‘yeah, being as beautiful as you must be exhausting’, but she resisted.

She giggled as he leaned in close to her as if he were telling a secret. “Honestly? I did this reading like an hour ago. I woke up and did it just before class.”

“Really?” Marinette smiled and he nodded his head.

“I kind of… forgot about it.” He gave her a sheepish smile that made her feel warm all over. He was so cute. How could she have thought that Adrien would be mad at her for forgetting? He probably would’ve understood if she had just been honest with him. Adrien was so kind…

Adrien and Marinette spent the rest of their group time in comfortable small talk. She felt a surge of pride in herself for being able to maintain as many sensical sentences around him as she was… and honestly? Adrien was such a sweetheart. Talking to him was actually much more natural than she ever could’ve hoped it’d be.

She told him about her planned sleepover with Alya, and he told her about his busy schedule for Monday. They laughed about feeling like the third and fourth wheels around Alya and Nino, and their general excitement for the weekend.

Adrien always had a way of making her forget her problems.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this chapter... months ago. But I kept forgetting to upload it. Please forgive me.
> 
> Also, shoutout to Ladybuginettes for betaing this chapter for me!! <3

Bless Alya. Marinette didn’t know what she ever did to deserve her.

After school that day, Marinette arrived at Alya’s house for their scheduled sleepover. Alya had noted the exhausted look in Marinette’s eyes and assured her that she wouldn’t mind if Marinette spent some of their time together taking a much-needed nap.

She  _ really _ didn’t know what she did to deserve her.

After her nap, she begrudgingly turned off her phone alarm, rubbed her eyes, and forced herself to sit up. As much as she wanted to just sleep through the rest of the day, the two of them were planning on going out about the town soon, and she didn’t want to ruin their sleepover any more than she already had. As Marinette glanced around Alya’s room, a certain comic sitting on her desk caught Marinette’s eye. She still hadn't read the second half...

Chewing her lip and knowing full well that Tikki was likely still asleep in her purse and couldn’t contest it, Marinette flicked the lamp on and grabbed the comic book. Alya was probably waiting out in the living room with her family, but surely she could wait just a couple more minutes for Marinette, right?

Marinette opened the book and flipped through the pages with a frown. Adrien’s description of the events seemed pretty accurate. Skimming through, Marinette saw Ladybug crying into Mightillustrator’s shoulder and huffed to herself, resentment pooling in her gut as she tried to shake the feeling off. Something didn’t sit right with her about it.

She flipped the page to see a villain burst in through the walls of the church and rush to Chat Noir’s open casket, trying to grab his miraculous off of his body.

Augh. That was a gross thought. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut. Prying his miraculous from his cold dead fin—

The thud of an opening door startled Marinette out of her thoughts, nearly knocking her right out of the bed.

“You’re up!” Alya cheered, “Wha— Hey, put that down!”

Marinette huffed and set the comic down on the desk, a playful smirk donning her face. “What? Am I not allowed to touch your stuff? Think my hands are too grimy?”

“You’re not  _ allowed _ to read that dumb comic that made you sad!” Alya snorted, rushing up to Marinette to grab and tug at her wrist, “But since you’re awake, let’s hurry up and go! I’m getting antsy!”

“Okay, okay!” Marinette giggled and snatched her purse up from the ground. Spending the day with Alya was much preferable to reading that comic, anyway.

* * *

 

Marinette sipped at the last drops of her smoothie before dropping the cup into the nearest trash can. 

Alya and Marinette had spent the last hour or so wandering around a shopping district. They had been mostly window shopping, though Alya had splurged on a ladybug-print phone case. Marinette could feel her mood improving significantly with the fresh air and her best friend by her side.

She peeked into a shop window, idly appreciating the strange trinkets within. It seemed to be a strange little shop with charming souvenirs, and probably a fun place to stop by. Maybe she’d find something cute or funny to decorate her room with? She opened her mouth to tell Alya, but was cut off by the sound of a sharp gasp.

_ Oh no. _ Was there an akuma?

Marinette whipped her head around to Alya, ready to ask what was wrong when—

“Chat Noir!” Alya squealed. Marinette’s eyes followed Alya’s and, sure enough, Chat Noir was wandering on a rooftop across the street.

“Is there an akuma?” Marinette whispered to Alya. Why would Chat Noir be wandering around at this time if there wasn’t?

Alya shrugged and startled Marinette when she bellowed out, “HEY! CHAT NOIR!”

Though he was far away, the cat ears perched atop his head flicked up as he turned his head towards them. She wanted to think his enhanced senses helped him hear Alya, but honestly, half of Paris probably could hear her.

Alya waved her hands in the air and Chat Noir leapt over to them, flipping in the air with an exaggerated flourish before landing on his feet just in front of them.  _ What a show off. _

“Why hello, ladies!” Chat cooed out, giving the two of them an exaggerated bow. Marinette frowned.

“Is there any danger?” Marinette asked, shoulders tense as she tried to think of what excuse she would have to slip away from Alya to transform.

“Nothing  _ cat _ astrophic that I’m aware of,” Chat answered, voice coy as he gave the two of them a big smirk. He was acting… especially Chat Noir today. His general tone and body language were exaggerated as if he were acting in a play, and Marinette felt like she had whiplash.

Wasn’t he crying in her arms last night?

“Then what’s the occasion?” Alya questioned.

“Just stretching my legs!” Chat grinned, and Marinette understood. Though it was a bit unusual for Chat Noir to be wandering around without a reason, it certainly wasn’t unheard of. Besides, Marinette couldn’t judge; she’d used her own fair share of transformations to just run around the city.

“So you’re not busy?” Alya asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes that gave Marinette a pool of angst in her gut. After having to cradle a weeping Chat Noir in her arms, Marinette wasn’t exactly keen on Alya cutting into his me-time for an interview— not that Alya knew that that had happened…

“I’m never too busy for the citizens of Paris!” Chat bellowed out with a grin, resting his fists on his hips and puffing out his chest in a stance that Marinette felt was straight off of a Superman cover. Where did this come from? “I am at your service!”

“Uh huh,” Alya laughed, amused by his behavior, “Well… You know my friend here, right?”

Huh? What did she have to do with this? Wasn’t she just asking for an interview?

“Marinette!” Chat Noir answered, a twinkle in his eye as he looked to her with a smile, “How could I ever forget someone as amazing as Marinette?”

Alya grinned, and Marinette felt her cheeks pinken. He was… really overdoing it.

“Yeah, well, she’s your biggest fan,” Alya said in a cool voice.

_ WHAT. _

Marinette felt her face flare up in embarrassment. Chat’s, on the other hand, lit up. “Really?”

“Alya!” Marinette hissed under her breath. Alya seemed to ignore her.

“She just can’t stop talking about you,” Alya said as Marinette resisted the urge to tackle her to the ground, “She’s always drawing you, talking about how cute your bell is, how much she cares about you, and… well, let’s just say she has a thing for blonds.”

Marinette covered her face and breathed out a silent scream into the palms of her hands. Her cheeks were so hot, she felt like they could melt off her face.

“Blonds?” Chat asked, his voice taken aback. Really?  _ That’s _ what he got from that? She was going to die.

“Yeah. But... she’s been having a bad week,” Alya continued, “and, well, she was just telling me how much she’s always dreamed of seeing Paris from the rooftops…”

_ NO SHE WASN’T. _

“I can do that!” Chat said, a nonsensical excitement in his eyes and— what was happening? Was this real? Was Alya really asking Chat Noir to whisk Marinette away right now?

Marinette was going to kill her.

Marinette supposed she understood Alya’s reasoning. What with all of her anxiety over Chat Noir’s well-being, it was reasonable to think it’d help to have Marinette spend some one-on-one time with the hero. It was, however, debunked by the fact that Marinette saw Chat Noir nearly every day and already had a very close relationship with him.

She was still going to kill her.

“N-No, it’s fine!” Marinette squeaked out, face red from embarrassment. She  _ really _ didn’t want to interrupt Chat’s me-time. Despite his current over-the-top attitude, she wasn’t entirely convinced that he wasn’t having a terrible day. How do you go from bawling your eyes out one night to being perfectly chipper the next afternoon? “You don’t have to! I’m totally fine! It’s nothing! Alya doesn’t know what she’s talking about! I don’t want to be a bother!”

“You wouldn’t be a bother at all!” Chat Noir cooed, grabbing Marinette’s hand and pressing a dramatic, chaste kiss on her knuckles. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Was this even the same guy from last night? Was Copycat back at it again?

“Great!” Alya cheered and pushed Marinette towards him, “Thank you so much! Don’t keep her too long, y’hear?”

Marinette was trapped. She really couldn’t keep arguing this, though she supposed spending time with Chat certainly wasn’t a  _ bad _ thing. At least, it wouldn’t be if not for the fact she was worried about bothering him. She wasn’t sure if Chat would be the type to be honest and say he didn’t want to.

After giving him a hesitant nod of approval, Chat scooped Marinette up into his arms. Marinette shot Alya a look, and Alya winked right back.

“Text me when you’re done!” Alya called after them as Chat bounded up to the rooftops with Marinette in his arms.

Well, she supposed she might as well try to enjoy this, considering she didn’t seem to have much of a choice. She sighed and kept her arms wrapped around Chat’s neck, gently resting her cheek against his shoulder. There was a certain comfort in being near Chat Noir— not unlike the comfort that she felt near Alya. She trusted him with her life, and if it were easy and convenient for them, she would gladly spend more time with him than she did.

Being carried across the rooftops was a bit exhilarating. Not nearly as much as being Ladybug was, but still fun. Excitement stewed in her gut as she looked around the city from above. She had to admit— she didn’t get to see Paris from above in the daytime as much as she would’ve liked. At least, not in a setting without immediate danger.

A small part of her noted that it was nice to feel Chat’s suit with her bare hands— something that she couldn’t do when she was Ladybug— but she quickly shook the thought away.

Just as she was beginning to wonder where they were headed, Chat stopped in his tracks. She smiled to herself at the familiarity of the rooftop that they had stopped at— it was one that Ladybug and Chat Noir hung out on top of often. He carefully set her down on her feet.

She looked over the city with a smile on her face. Though she preferred the Parisian lights at night, there was something special about looking at the bustling city below them. There were never this many crowds during patrol times.

“This is one of my favorite spots,” Chat Noir said as Marinette sat herself down on the edge of the rooftop. She glanced at the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and her heart felt… warm.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t going to kill Alya.

“Thank you, Chat Noir,” Marinette sighed, dangling her legs over the side. She still felt a bit bad about bothering him, but she had to admit that she quite enjoyed this in her own selfish way. “I’m sorry about making you do this, by the way. I’m sure you were in the middle of something…”

“Oh no, not at all!” Chat quickly reassured, and she glanced at him to see a bright smile on his face as he sat himself down beside her, “I don’t mind at all! I wasn’t really doing anything… and I quite like the company.”

With a genuine smile on her face, Marinette glanced down at the crowds of tourists and parisians bustling through the streets. Sitting with Chat Noir like this was always quite comforting, though a bit strange without her mask on.

After a moment of silence, Chat spoke up, “Your friend… Alya, right? She said you were having a bad week.”

Marinette flushed a little and shook her head. “Ah— she was exaggerating.”

“You can talk to me if you’d like,” Chat assured, glancing over the city with a grin, “I’m a superhero, you know. It’s my job to help citizens in distress! I am but your humble servant, princess.”

“Uh huh.” she rolled her eyes and smiled. But when he turned to her and met her eyes, the look in his eyes told her that he was being genuine. With soft eyes, he took her hands into his own and stared right at her, and she felt as though her heart had stopped.

“You know, Marinette…” he whispered, “I think I’m getting a good idea of what you’re like.”

“What?” Marinette choked out, “We’ve only talked like… twice?”

“More than that! We’ve met enough for me to get a good sense of you. You helped me out once, remember?”

She nodded. “Evillustrator.”

“Well… yeah, that too,” Chat said with a little shrug, “You really rocked during that, by the way. But I meant more like... as a friend.”

“As a friend?” She muttered, confused.

“I came to your balcony when I was upset about Ladybug, remember?” he chuckled, having the sense to seem a bit embarrassed about it, “I mean… you helped talk me through it a bit, and I really am grateful. Don’t think I forgot that.”

“Oh…” Marinette chewed her lip as embarrassment flushed over her. That memory was a bit awkward for her. “Right.”

“You’re really kind, Marinette,” he whispered, voice unnervingly gentle, “You’re always helping and standing up for others. That’s why you have so many friends.”

She furrowed her brow. “... How did you know that?”

“I was at your birthday party, remember?” Chat winked at her. “Besides! Animal instincts. I’d like to think I’m  _ purr _ ty good at figuring people out.”

“Oh, sure,” she snorted.

“You always see the best in people,” he continued, and Marinette wondered where all of this was coming from, “but you’re not a pushover. You stand up for what you believe in, but you always do it with an air of kindness.”

Was she being psychoanalyzed by Chat Noir right now? She quirked a brow. “All of this is animal instincts?”

“What?” He laughed. “You don’t believe me?”

“I mean…” Marinette giggled, “It kind of feels like you’re just making things up as you go along.”

“But am I wrong?” Chat whispered, a sudden hint of seriousness in his tone. 

She hesitated.

“Exactly.” He smiled. “So… how about applying that to other things?”

“I… I don’t get what you mean.”

“You always see the good in people,” he said, glancing out over the city, “So how about seeing the good in the future too?”

“... What?”

“Try…” Chat hesitated, as if trying to figure out what he was going to say next, “... Try not to focus so much on what-ifs. Keep your stubbornness and go for what you think is right— but still see the good in the world, you know? Don’t focus so much on what-ifs. It’s easy to… uhh… say ‘what if the world ended tomorrow,’ but you can also think ‘what if I won the lottery tomorrow’.”

“I’ve never entered the lottery,” Marinette laughed, “Are you trying to get all philosophical on me?”

Chat had the decency to look humble, “I’m  _ trying! _ All I’m saying is… … and I know it’s easier said than done, and I need to take my own advice here too, but each negative comes with a positive. Ladybug and I are here to make sure the positives happen.”

Marinette stared at him.

He squeezed her hands, and she had almost forgotten that he was holding them at all. “... You shouldn’t worry about us superheroes, Marinette.”

“I…” Marinette gawked, feeling as if she had just been doused with cold water. She had no idea where Chat had gotten that from. “I-I never said I was worried about—”

“I deduced it!” Chat quickly clarified, his cheeks pink. Did Chat Noir have special abilities that she wasn’t aware of? That didn’t seem fair— first he got pockets, enhanced senses, claws, and night-vision, but now he had ESP too? Sure, Ladybug could cleanse akumas and repair the city but… … ESP.

“You… sure are perceptive.”

“I’m a smart cat.” He winked at her, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Well… thank you,” Marinette managed to say, removing her hands from his to brush down her thighs. This was… a weird talk.

“Like I said!” Chat beamed. “I am here to assist the citizens of Paris!”

“I don’t think psychic readings are in the job description.”

“How would you know?” Chat winked. “Give me your palm, I’ll read it.”

“No thanks,” she laughed, “We’ve talked about me enough. How are  _ you _ ?”

“... Me?”

“Who else?”

“What did I just say?” Chat snorted, “You’re not supposed to worry about superheroes.”

“I just want to know how you are,” she said honestly, watching him carefully.

“I’m grrreat!” he bellowed.

“You’re not a tiger,” she huffed, “I mean… … I’m sure superheroes have bad nights too. Right?”

“Still a cat. And not me!” Chat said, but Marinette knew for a fact he was lying through his teeth. She frowned. “I’ve had a great week, actually.”

“Really?” Marinette muttered, disappointed in how well he was hiding it. If she hadn’t been personally cradling his weeping form last night, she might’ve been inclined to believe him. “No… rough nights?”

He laughed, and her mood only dropped in response. “No. I’m fine, Marinette.”

Marinette simply nodded her head. There was nothing more she could say.

"Now," Chat said, pulling himself up onto his feet, "Let's get you back to Alya."

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr: http://buggachat.tumblr.com
> 
> comments appreciated!


End file.
